Brokenness

The nicest grocery store in Zambia and below is how the rest of the population shops for food.
Today we saw the bleak and sad side of Zambia. In the morning Stephanie showed me around the grocery store called Shoprite and their form of Target called "Game". You can buy just about everything you would want here, it just comes at a higher price sometimes. It was encouraging to see all that is available. Later in the day, Tim took us through Sowetta, where white people rarely dare to shop. It was crowded, dirty, and what you would expect shopping to be like in a 3rd world country. I bought some big wooden spoons that the women use to make sheema, a fine cornmeal mush they eat three times a day. We drove through one of the compound areas on the way to Tim and Andrea's home. It is so eye opening to see SO MANY PEOPLE live so poorly. Mazatlan is the closest I've come to seeing this kind of poverty. What do you do with all this??
Earlier in the day Tim took us to the flat of an HIV positive woman named Etta who helped Action start their AIDS training ministry called CROSS. We learned all about the social and spiritual brokenness that has resulted in the AIDS crisis in Zambia. The statistics are horrible. The infidelity at 60%. What is socially exceptable here is shocking. We learned about what Action is doing to address the root of the problem instead of trying to change people's behavior only. They need to know God and the transforming power of the gospel. Change happens one life at a time. There is so much hopelessness and dysfunction, like anywhere in the world, except here it is more obvious.
Pastor John and Etta, who work with churches how to love the people yet battle HIV.

We're learning SO MUCH. I love learning so many new things. We both feel like we are being carried through it all by your prayers. We are healthy, we are over the jet lag and we are not losing our minds, so keep praying PLEASE!!